Denham Springs says census wrong

Bob Anderson
The Advocate
February 10, 2011

DENHAM SPRINGS - The city will challenge newly released U.S. Census Bureau numbers appearing to be 8 percent below the city's actual population, Mayor Jimmy Durbin said Wednesday.

City officials said the ZIP code used for Denham Springs on the Census Bureau's website was incorrect, which may be part of the problem.

Durbin said he also questions whether the bureau used the city's boundaries from 2000 or its broader 2010 boundaries.

A Census Bureau official said late Wednesday he was not prepared to discuss the specific issues involving Denham Springs, but said the city's appeal would be reviewed carefully.

"The Census Bureau wants to get an accurate count," spokesman Michael Cook said. "That's our goal."

Although the Census Bureau's 2010 population number listed on its website for Denham Springs is 10,215, city officials believe the actual population to be about 11,000, Councilwoman Annie Fugler said.

This could have a big effect on both federal funds the city receives and federal projects in the city, she said.

"If they start using these numbers … we are going to be in dire straits," Fugler said.

The ZIP code listed for the city on the Census Bureau's website was 70706, which is actually for a rural area north of Denham Springs, Fugler said.

The correct ZIP code for Denham Springs is 70726.

That might be the problem, or "They may have used the wrong maps," she said.

Durbin said he suspects the bureau didn't use up-to-date maps that show large areas annexed by the city since the last census a decade ago.

"My great concern is whether the correct boundary was used," the mayor said.

The maps on the Census Bureau's website are not detailed enough to determine whether they cover all of the areas added to the city, the officials said.

They said only 798 more residents were counted in the 2010 census than in the 2000 census.

Not only has the population within the old city limits grown, but the annexed areas included apartments, subdivisions, trailer courts and a large nursing home, Durbin said.

Apartments have been built within the old city limits and little residential housing is vacant, the mayor said.

The city has undergone a large population increase since Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, he said.

"We know we have developed and built new apartments," Fugler said, adding the substantial population increase in the city is visible to anyone who looks around.

The population number given for Denham Springs is well below the last estimate by Louisiana Tech, which came in at 10,790, Durbin said.

Tech's yearly estimates indicated that, in 2006, Denham Springs surpassed the number shown by the 2010 census, he said

Durbin said he conferred with Louisiana Municipal Association officials and learned some other municipalities have raised concerns about their own census numbers.

The deputy director of the association, Don Nijoka, said he has received some calls from officials in municipalities who feel their population numbers are low in the 2010 count, but added that can be expected after a census.